Improved wind-wheel



i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS PEABODY, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS IMPRovED WIND-WHEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 14,572, dated April 1, 1856.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCAIS PEABODY, of Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vind-VVheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a plan; Figs. 3 and 4, details which will be referred to hereinafter.

The application of wind-wheels to factories and mills of large size has notheretofore been found practicable otherwise than by the employment of expensive and cumbersome structures, owing to the difficulty of moving the wheels round to the diderent points of the compass. To remedy this difiiculty is the object of my present invention, which consists in the adaptation of two wheels to an oblong building so arranged (as will be presently described) that the full circle of the horizon maybe traversed, and one or the other of them may at any time be brought into a position to receive the wind, whatever may be the direction from which it blows.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the building, mill, or factory of the form seen in plan in Fig. 2 B B2, the wheels with their regulating-disks C C2. Each wheel, with the parts immediately connected therewith, is secured to a platform or turn-table D D2, which is capable of being revolved round a center f, whereby each wheel is enabled to traverse an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees, and 011e or other of them may be made to face the wind, whatever may be the direction from which it blows.

The wheel B is secured to its sha-ft with a spline and feather, and revolves with it, its motion being regulated, as in the Letters Patent granted to me on the 15th of May, 1855, by means of the spring ct andvdisk C. Cords or chains b, attached to a ring which plays in a groove in the hub, pass through the disk C and are attached to'a lever E, pivoted atc. This lever carries a weight F, by which means the spring at is compressed with a force proportionate to the strength of the wind. This,

however, forms no part of my present invention, and neednot be further described. The shaft G2 ot' the wheel B2 runs in boxes in the standard H2 and in the disk C2, and is connected with the machinery within the building by the bevel-wheels I and K, the latter being secured to a vertical shaft L, the axis of which passes through the center of motion ot' the turn-table D2. 'It will thus be perceived that whatever may be the position into which the wheel B2is thrown the wheels I and K will always remain in gear with each other and the motion of the wheel will be transmitted to the machinery within. The Wheel B is to be arranged in a similar manner. The details are not, howevenrepresented in the drawings.

I will now describe the manner in which I have regulated the wheel B2. In the beforementioned Letters Patent the motion of the wind-wheel was governed by means of a disk and spring. In distant settlements, however,

vwhere facilities for repairs are not at hand,

serious delay and inconvenience might be occasioned by the breakage of a spring, to avoid which I have originated the following device to be used in lieu of the spring for the purpose of balancing the force of the wind upon the wheel. This device is seen in detail in Figs. 3 and 4, in which h is the hub of the wheel, which is caused to revolve with the shaft by a groove and feather, but is permitted to slide longitudinally thereon in the customary manner. Upon each side of the hubs are grooves 1i t2, to which are adapted guiderings 7o k2. To the pins Z Z2, projecting from opposite sides of these rings, are pivoted the rods N and O, the object of which is to hold the rings steady and prevent them from being revolved by the wheel. The lower ends of these rods enter staples m in the standards H2 and disks C2, through which theyy are allowed to play as the Wheel slides upon its axis. To the pins Z are attached the cords or chains Q, which, passing through to the rear of the disk, are secured to the windlass R, by the operation of which the wheel is drawn up to the disk, that it may be held more steadily in violent gales. To the springs k2 are secured the cords or chains Q2, which pass through the standards H2 and are secured to the weight S, the weight of whichis sufficient to counterbalance the force of the wind upon the wheel so long asit is not necessary to retard its motion by bringing it nearer to its regulating-disk.

p are Weights which rest upon steps in the sides of the inclined guides T, and through holes in which pass the chains that support the weight S.

In the accompanying drawings two only of the Weights p are represented. Any suitable number may, however, be employed. Their operation is as follows: As the force of the wind increases the wheel B2 is carried back toward its disk, and the weight S is raised until it comes in Contact with the lowest weight p, which itlifts from off the steps upon which it rests. In the same manner the Weights p are successively raised until the accumulated weight upon the wheel shall counterbalance the force of the wind, when the Wheel will be held steadily, or will play to and from the disk as the force of the wind increases.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The method herein described of hanging and arranging the two wheels and adapting them to the opposite ends of a permanent building, the wheels, with their regulatingdisks, being secured to the revolving turntables at a distance from the point around which they revolve equal, or nearly so, to onehalf the width of the building, whereby wheels of great diameter may be employed in connection with a permanent building of any required dimensions, as set forth.

2. The weights S and p p, with the chains Q2 or their equivalents, in combination with the disks C2, for the purpose of regulating the motion of the Wheel to the varying force of the wind, aS set forth.

FRANCIS PEABODY.

K Vitnesses:

SAM. COOPER, v P. E. TESCHEMACHER. 

